Trouble looms for Antonio Conte as Chelsea stars turn against him

Glenn Hoddle has admitted that he still can not believe that Chelsea agreed to let Nemanja Matic leave the club to sign for Manchester United in the summer.

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has dismissed suggestions of disgruntlement at the club over his training methods.

He added: "I'm not happy changing the role of my players".

Fourth-placed Watford, two points ahead of Chelsea, are likely to play the same team for the trip to west London as they did in their surprise 2-1 victory over Arsenal last week.

That has caused questions to be asked inside and outside the club about preparation and the high number of injuries being picked up.

MEMORABLE MEETING May 2017 saw Chelsea play their first game since being crowned last season's Premier League champions. It has only been two games, but already Chelsea are counting down the days until Kante returns from the hamstring injury he picked up on global duty. I repeat: "the problem is [having] to play every game with the same players".

It could mean Cesc Fabregas is the only fit midfielder available for Conte, and Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta summed up the glum feeling after the Roma game when he said: "The mood at the moment is not the best".

That was a 6-0 mauling at home by a rampant Manchester City, but they have recovered well with seven points out of nine since then.

Conte's tough sessions last season were easier to handle with no European football to consider, but now their workload is taking its toll.

Conte, who made a point of praising the Pozzo family for the team-strengthening they had sanctioned at Watford, had always envisaged a hard campaign and had stressed in talks with the hierarchy the need to add greater depth to his squad over the summer.

Chelsea are facing a must-win situation against Watford in Saturday's early-kickoff, with back-to-back losses in the league and a credible, but frustrating draw in the Champions League piling on the extra pressure.